


Tonic

by glubbyfishprincess



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, F/F, it's kinda sad i guess, other minor character appearances throughout the story, somewhat inspired by the recent PSA
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-09
Updated: 2014-08-09
Packaged: 2018-02-12 10:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2107149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glubbyfishprincess/pseuds/glubbyfishprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaikaina knows everything about everyone in Blood Gulch. Well, almost everyone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tonic

“Another beer, Kai.” The man tapped on the counter, calling the attention of the young bartender.

“No way, mister, that’s way too much for tonight!” She giggled, wagging her finger at the man. “And your boyfriend must be getting sick of waiting for you. Isn’t that right, Florida?”

She looked over to the other man in a dark blue shirt seated beside him, who was sipping iced tea. He raised his hands innocently and shrugged. “Don’t look at me”

“Nah, you’re right. You win again, Kai! Good game, good game!” The man gave out a hearty laugh and attempted to stand up from his stool, only to lose his footing and nearly fall over. Florida caught him before he fell and hoisted his arm around his own shoulders. “Hehe, my hero…” He muttered and slumped forward right after, passing out from having a little bit too much to drink.

Florida sighed as he struggled to support the man’s weight. He pulled out a few crumpled bills out of his pocket with his free hand and placed them on the bar. “I hope this covers it? Terribly sorry about him, by the way, he had a rough day at work. His new employer still isn’t too happy about his corny jokes.”

She swiped the bills from the counter and quickly counted them. “Mhmm, this is about right. And it’s really no problem, sir! It’s great he has such a wonderful boyfriend to keep him in line, huh?”

He chuckled and dismissed her compliment with a wave before turning around to leave, practically carrying his boyfriend on his back at that point. “Goodnight, Kaikaina.”

“Night, Mr. Florida! Night, Mr. Wyoming!” She cheerfully waved as the two walked out the front door, leaving the bar with only a few solitary customers.

The clock on the wall read 1 AM, an hour away from closing time. Kai sighed and cleared the counter of the empty glasses and brought them to the sink to wash. She enjoyed her work at the Blue Bar but it left her arms aching every night from mixing and serving drinks.

The bell over the door rang as another customer entered. Kai cursed under her breath. At this hour? Seriously? It was probably Tucker; her co-worker had the habit of accidentally leaving his things at the bar from time to time. She turned to face the door with her hands on her hips, ready to tell him off.

“Goddamit, Tucker, how many fucking times do I have to tell yo-” She immediately cut herself off when she met with an unfamiliar pair of eyes. The newcomer, a woman with short red hair, looked back at her with a confused expression on her face.

“Oops, sorry! I just thought you were a friend of mine. He keeps losing his things here and all. We all have those kinda annoying friends that are annoying as heck but are super hot and would probably do good in bed if he didn’t have a boyfriend, right?” The stranger only shrugged and looked back at her with a bored expression before taking a seat at the counter, leaving Kai awkwardly hanging without reply. “Right, of course.”

She leaned against the counter, absentmindedly staring at the newcomer. Kai knew most of the population of Blood Gulch but she had no idea who this mysterious girl was (It was right to call her mysterious as she was all covered up in black clothing with menacing combat boots to match. Edgy, Kai thought, and kinda hot.) and it bothered her.

The girl coughed awkwardly, turning to glare at the bartender. Kai snapped out of it, realizing she was at work. “O-oh, right! What’ll you be having?”

“Gin and tonic.” She practically grunted before looking off to the side again.

“Alright.” She quickly mixed the order and placed the glass in front of the customer. She nodded, not even looking Kai’s direction. Kai leaned on the counter and smiled at the girl, attempting to start a conversation of some sort again. “So, I’ve never seen you before. Are you new here?”

The girl ignored her and took a sip from her glass. Kai shrugged and went back to washing dishes. She knew she wasn’t going to get very far with the new girl, as curious as she was. She was probably someone passing by Blood Gulch on the way to the city, it wasn’t common but it did happen. Kai was used to all kinds of customers, having worked there for a few years already.

She did glance back at the girl a few times, though, her curiosity getting the best of her. The red-haired girl just leaned on the bar, staring off at the distance while taking a few sips in between. She showed little to no emotion but Kai could see a hint of sadness reflecting on her dark grey eyes, the same expression on every customer who sat alone at their bar at late night. Most of them drank to escape from problems they had, and some of them were more than happy to share their stories with Kai. A little alcohol in some peoples’ systems made them more loose and ready to talk. She enjoyed this part of work the most; handling people was just her thing (Innuendo intended and also true.) She loved people, with all their faults and problems. It was just interesting to her.

So Kai couldn’t help but feel bothered when she was faced with this new girl who refused to reveal anything. Was she running away from something? Family problems? Relationship? Mafia? Secretly an alien spying on the workings of the human race? Her mind ventured to more ridiculous theories and she giggled quietly at them, her tiredness quickly melting away. She greeted the last few customers goodbye as the night slowly came to a close. She stole another glance at the girl, who still sat at the counter.

“Alright!” She clapped her hands together as the clock beeped, signifying closing time. “Sorry, ma’am, but it’s about time for me to close up.”

She grunted in reply and drank the last of her drink before getting up to leave, leaving a few bills on the counter to pay.

“Stay safe! It’s pretty late already.” She called out, but the lady didn’t even turn to look as she walked out the door. “Jeez, what a character.” She thought out loud as soon as the girl was out of sight, then she turned her attention to the money on the table. The woman had left a 5 dollar tip.

\-------

The woman didn’t appear until another 3 days. It was another slow night and Kai was chatting with another customer when the bell rang again.

“Oh, it’s you again!” She greeted excitedly as the lady took a seat at the counter again, looking off the to the side again. “Not gonna talk much again, huh?” She didn’t even flinch. “It’s alright, it’s alright, I respect that.”

The lady ordered another gin and tonic and blocked everything else out again as soon as she received her drink. Kai turned her attention back to the customer she was chatting with earlier; she didn’t want to bother the girl. Plus, she was too engrossed with Donut’s story about the sex he had with his boyfriend the other night (“He was totally into it!” “No way, him? Are you sure you’re not dating his kinky twin brother or something because I seriously doubt that.” “I’m not lying!”)

Soon, Donut left as the it drew closer to closing time and Kai was forced into another awkward silence with the stranger. She busied herself with checking the inventory until the clock beeped again.

“Alright, it’s closing time again.” She nodded to the girl who simply nodded back, leaving the money on the counter before turning to leave. “By the way,” Kai piped up, stopping her halfway to the door. “Thanks for the tip the other day. That was pretty cool of you.”

She shrugged again and left without a word.

Kai checked the money on the table again and she had left another 5 dollar tip. Sweet, she thought, stuffing it into the back pocket of her shorts. Almost immediately after the last customer left, the bell over the door rang, much to her surprise.

“Hey, Kai!”

 _Tucker,_ she groaned. Her dark-skinned friend flashed her a huge smile and leaned forward on the counter.

“So, I accidentally left the cat litter I promised to buy Wash and he wouldn’t let me into the apartment without it so…”

“It’s in the room in the back, you also left your sweater by the way. Next time you leave your things, I swear, I’m gonna sell them.” Kai rolled her eyes and threw the towel she was wiping the dishes with at his friend, who dodged it and stuck his tongue out.

“Whatever, anyways did that red-haired chick really come here?” He asked.

“Yeah, why?” She tried not to sound too interested but she turned to face Tucker. “You know anything about her?”

“You kidding me?” He frowned at Kai. “She just suddenly rolled into town around a week ago. I heard she beat up a whole gang that tried to harass her the other night. Those guys deserved it, honestly, but man does she scare the shit outta me. People say she's some kinda secret agent so everyone, especially the ne'er-do-wells, is on their toes right now. The other day, Felix -- I'm talking about fucking Felix McI-probably-killed-a-man-at-one-point here, for god's sake -- practically scurried away with his tail between his legs when he heard she was comin'.”

“Huh, she seemed pretty nice though.” Kai squinted. She didn’t really doubt the capabilities of the stranger but she knew she wasn’t as bad as Tucker made her seem. Her hand wandered to her back pocket, where the 5 dollar bill was safely tucked inside.

“Still, though, it doesn’t hurt to be wary.” Tucker shrugged and walked to the room in the back to get his things.

“By the way,” Kai shouted after him. “Do you know her name?”

“Who doesn’t?” She could _hear_ the grin plastered on his face as he shouted back. “They call her Tex.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha i should really finish up my other fics but this kept nagging at me ok i love this ship too much. please keep in mind i have never actually been inside a bar in my life. i like how im pulling an incredibly smart move by writing a bar au. comments are appreciated btw.


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